Wearing just a G-string and heels, the supermodel Bella Hadid strutted down the runway at the Paris Fashion Week after having a dress 3D printed onto her body — one of the many examples of how 3D printing is becoming more and more mainstream.
Whether it’s the making of foods or even the construction of a full-sized house, this technology holds a world of promise.
Therefore, in a world where 3D printing is advancing so rapidly, surely something as small as hair could also be manufactured, right? Many people suffering from permanent baldness can be helped if 3D printed hair is a possibility.
What Is 3D Printing?
While it might seem like a recent phenomenon, the history of 3D printing dates back all the way to the 1980s as a way to make prototypes quickly and relatively cheaply. Charles “Chuck” Hull eventually revolutionised printing by enabling people to convert digitally created 3D models into tangible objects through his “stereolithography.”
The way 3D printers work is simple: You create a digital file of the object you want to print, and the printer will create it by layering the 3D-printing material from the ground up. It keeps on adding the material layer by layer until the object is ready — for this reason, it’s also known as additive manufacturing.
On the one end, 3D printing can be used to create a plethora of household items, such as utensils, key holders, and, of course, toys. It has, however, also made its way into the world of medicine and healthcare due to its promising potential.
Organ models: 3D printing has been used to print organ models, which have been beneficial in surgical planning.
Prosthetics: This technology has also been used to create functional prosthetic limbs for those with physical disabilities.
Pharmaceuticals: 3D printing is also being used in the manufacturing of drugs and drug delivery systems.
Dentistry: Dental crowns, dentures, implants, and orthodontic aligners are among the items being developed using 3D printing technology, according to a recent review published in the Dentistry Journal.
Keeping this in mind, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that 3D printed hair might one day become available. Fortunately, there have been some positive developments in this.
Can A 3D Printer Print Hair?
The development of hair follicles utilising 3D printing has been achieved, but so far, only in a lab environment.
Recently, a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) used 3D bioprinting to create hair follicles. A “bioink” was created, which was used to construct the skin, which contained hair cell channels. Skin cells eventually went to these channels and began to form hair.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University also 3D printed skin that showed early hair follicle formation. While the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Bioactive Materials, was done on rats to treat injuries during surgery, the lead researcher noted the application of the study to hair transplants.
While these investigations certainly highlight the possibility of hair follicle formation involving the use of a 3D printer, the research is still quite in its infancy.
Can You Have A Hair Transplant With 3D Printed Hair?
At present, 3D-printed hair transplants seem like a remote possibility due to uncertainty about whether large-scale production of hair grafts can be effectively managed, as well as potential safety concerns.
The extent of baldness determines how many hair grafts you need, but hair transplants usually require thousands. To the best of our knowledge, no research has successfully generated hair follicles using a 3D printer — on a smaller or larger scale — and used them for a hair transplant.
Additionally, the generation of 3D-printed hair follicles needs to be studied for safety reasons. In a letter to the editor submitted to the journal Cosmoderma, a risk of cancer was noted in association with the “3D printing model for hair follicle generation.”
That’s because the use of “pluripotent stem cells” (cells that have the potential to develop into any cell of the body), which are used in regenerative medicine, may have a possible cancer risk.
Will A 3D Printed Hair Transplant Become Available In The Future?
Whether 3D-printed hair transplants will be available in the future cannot be predicted as yet, primarily because there are too many unknowns.
And as is clearly evidenced by these studies above, it is not easy to 3D print hair even indirectly.
3D printing hair transplants certainly seems like something that might eventually happen, but, at present, it is unclear if it will work.
If 3D hair transplants were available, would they be better?
Through 3D printing hair follicles on a large scale, you may (hypothetically) be able to avoid the “extraction” phase of a hair transplant — where grafts are extracted from the back of the scalp (donor area) using a punch tool and then relocated to the balding areas.
Because the hair to be used for transplantation will be grown in a lab, you won’t have to worry about having a weak donor area, and it would also reduce the scars left by the surgery.
However, it’s unclear how much time 3D hair printing and, in turn, the entire surgery would take. Additionally, depending on the investment involved in setting up 3D printing of hair and the total amount of work, this procedure might be prohibitively expensive. But there are many things that only time can tell!
What Are The Alternatives To 3D Printed Hair Transplants?
The idea of 3D printed hair transplants might seem a bit far-fetched, but there are current treatments that can help you regain your hair, such as:
- FUE hair transplant (including DHI and Sapphire)
- FUT hair transplant
- Platelet-rich plasma injections
- Laser therapy
- Scalp micropigmentation
- Minoxidil and finasteride
Make sure to further consult your own doctor about the best treatment for your hair loss.
